CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina needs to beat Georgia Southern today to end a two-game losing streak.
The Tar Heels could also use some confidence heading into the second half of the season, but the outcome of today's game will have no effect on UNC's bowl chances.
The Heels already own a win over a Football Championship Subdivision opponent -- The Citadel, in the season-opener -- and the NCAA allows Bowl Subdivision teams to use only one victory over an FCS opponent each season toward bowl eligibility.
At 3-2, UNC needs to beat three more FBS opponents to qualify for its second straight bowl trip, something the program hasn't done since a seven-year streak of bowl games ended with the 1998 team. A 7-5 record and a bowl trip seemed like a foregone conclusion at 3-0, but the Heels have lost two straight to open the ACC schedule.
Coach Butch Davis said bowl talk is not high on the Heels' priority list.
"There wasn't talk about bowls when we were 3-0," Davis said. "At the end of the season, they'll tell if you've won enough to do anything. They'll call you, and somebody will send you a letter and some guy in an ugly jacket will come to the locker room on the 12th game, and that's the way it will be."
Falling out of the Top 25 and into an 0-2 hole in the Coastal Division race hasn't changed UNC's goals or mentality, Davis said.
"We're practicing today as if we were 5-0," Davis said. "We're going to practice every day as if today's the day we're going to try to get better.
"That all sounds like coachspeak, but the only thing I know is to put it into 12 one-week seasons and grow the team and get their confidence going."
A win and confidence are the top two goals for today's meeting with the Eagles, who are 3-2 with a 44-6 loss to South Dakota State and a 28-14 loss to Elon.
"We need to worry about this game, this one win," UNC quarterback T.J Yates said. "That's the only goal that matters."
